Christian Bale to Climb 'Everest' For 'Contraband' Director

Christian Bale is not an actor who shies away from punishing himself on screen. Whether he's starving himself for 'The Machinist,' enduring a brutally uncomfortable Batman costume for 'The Dark Knight' or simply appearing in a movie as bad as 'Terminator Salvation,' Bale is no stranger to torment. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Oscar winning actor is ready to brave deadly winds and harsh colds for 'Everest.' The man really seems to hate being comfortable.

According to Deadline, Bale is in talks to join director Baltasar Kormakur on the film, which will tell the true story of a team of climbers who were hit with a horrifying storm while scaling the titular mountain. The ordeal (which left eight people dead) was the subject of Jon Krakauer's book 'Into Thin Air,' as well as the 1997 TV movie of the same name. The script for 'Everest' will use the book and interviews with survivors as source material.

Although American audiences will best know Kormakur for the middling Mark Wahlberg vehicle 'Contraband,' he also made 'The Deep,' an Oscar shortlisted drama about a shipwreck survivor forced to swim for his life through miles and icy ocean. That certainly sounds like a good warm-up (har har) for 'Everest.'

In true Hollywood fashion, this is one of two competing Everest movies, the other being a Tom Hardy-starring, Doug Liman-helmed project about Sir George Mallory, the first man to climb the infamous mountain. Since both are currently titled 'Everest,' one will have to budge. You know what's a great title? 'Into Thin Air.' Perhaps the Everest project based on that book should, you know, use that title.